Peters



NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELMER W. DIOKERMAN, OF WESTFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TOGEORGE E. WHIPPLE, OF SAME PLACE.

SPINNING-TOP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 387,153, dated July 31,1888.

Application filed March 17, 1888.

To aZZ whom it moiy concern.-

Be it known that I, ELMER W. DIoKER- MAN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at \rVestfield, in the county of Hampden and State ofMassachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements inSpinning-Tops, of which the following is a specification.

The object of the present invention is to so construct a spinning-topthat it may be made to receive and support a percussion-cap or otherexplosive, and to cause an explosion of said cap at theinstant of itsbeing thrown for spinning by the concussion or compression contact ofone movable part of the top against said explosive; and the inventionconsists in the construction and combination of the parts of a top, allsubstantially as will hereinafter more fully appear, and be set forth inthe claim.

In the accompanying sheet of drawings a top constructed in accordancewith the present invention is illustrated, and Figuresl and 2 arerespectively a side elevation and central vertical section of same.

The body A of the top is axially bored or chambered from its upper side,as at a, for a portion of its height, at the bottom of which chamber ispreferably inserted a block, b, of hard material, as steel or iron, &c.,forming the cap stop or rest B. The chamber or bore a is closed by aplug or stopper, d, extending downwardly therein, but leaving aconsiderable space in the chamber between its inner end and the saidrest-block b, within which space is disposed an independentplungerblock, h, constituting the movable and exploding part of the top.Holes or passages It, more or less in number, extend radially from thesaid chamber a to the sides of the top-body.

Serial No. 267,559. (No model.)

To operate the top described, the plug d is removed and also theindependent plunger block, the cap or explosive placed on the rest B orbottom of the bore, and on the replacing of the plunger-block and plugand the top being wound, as usual, and thrown for its spinning, strikingthe ground or floor, the downwardimpact, compression, or concussion ofthe plunger-block against the cap causes its explosion, the holes ispreventing any muffling or deadening of the sound.

The indurated bearing-block 1) (shown in Fig. 2) may, if desired, bedispensed with in some instances, as where the wood or other materialfrom which the top-body is composed is sufficiently hard to form adurable and efi'ective cap-rest; but the use of such block is generallyto be preferred.

I am aware that it is not broadly new to construct tops with a rest orsupport for a percussion-cap, and to provide a plunger for securing forthe explosion of the fulminate, and such, broadly, is not claimed by me;but

What I do specifically claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

A spinning-top having formed in the body thereof a vertical chamber, andthe radial passages k, leading from the sides of the top thereto, andthe fiat block b in the bottom of the chamber to form a cap-rest,combined with the block h, loosely fitting and vertically movable insaid chamber, and the stopplug d, as described andshowmfor the purposeset forth.

ELMER W. DIGKERMAN.

Witnesses:

WM. S. BELLows, G. M. CHAMBERLAIN.

